The Ballad of the Tin soldier and the Paper ballerina
by TheGreatStorycollector
Summary: After one crisis is solved, another one occurs. This new story brings us the return of some characters previously put on a bus, introduction of some new ones and realization that the life of a fairy tale doesn't have to end happily and that some fates challenge the Legacy system more than others. Fasten your seat belts, this is gonna be a bumpy ride.
1. Ouverture

_author's note:_ I know, I know, another started story before I finished the previous one. But I will finish the last chapter of Mephistozeldes, in fact I'm writing it for the last few days but things don't go as quickly as I would like 1) beginning are always the easiest for me to write, 2) this whole year was really eventful (mostly in a bad way) for me and the last week and a half was filled with work and tasks. To sum it up I don't have much time and I my writing mojo weakened. It fluctuates constantly. So I promise I will end everything there is to end eventually but I need time. Please, have patience.

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 **The Ballad of the Tin soldier and the Paper ballerina**

 _ **Ouverture**_

In a swamp an Egyptian looking woman dressed in green and brown was doing laundry in a washtub. There was still something regal about her. Then a flock of wild geese landed on the muddy ground.

"Good day, Marsh king's bride," greeted the leader of the flock and bowed her head. The other geese followed.

The graceful swamp beauty smiled warmly: "Welcome, Akka of Kebnekaise. Rest your wings as long as you need. Where are you flying, wild geese?" "To the south, marsh queen Amunet, to the south," cackled the birds in unison. "Greet my old father. Tell him I'm alright and I will bring him the plant soon," pleaded the young lady of the swamp. Akka nodded: "That we will do."

When the birds rested long enough. Akka urged them to form the right flying formation and they took off into the sky again. A fat toad-like creature crept out of the mud. "It's a beautiful morning," the Marsh King hugged his wife. "It is and it will be even more beautiful when our daughter comes back home." "Don't despair, my love. One day we will be together I'm sure of it." "You're right, I mustn't let the misery take me over. There's so much beauty in the world. Like you, Gunk" The two kissed.

 _Brooke: (taken aback) "Um, guys, the title says-"_

 _Female Narrator: "Patience, Brooke, everything will be revealed in time."_

 _Brooke: (doubtfully) "If you say so…"_

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Ingrid was a gorgeous dark brown girl with large chocolate brown eyes and luscious black hair. Her outward appearance was immaculate, instead all her flaws were in her personality. It was a beast in a beauty's body. She was prone to violently attack fellow students and even the school staff for no reason. Actually she could be found insulting or even beating anything that moved or didn't as Ashlynn Ella found the hard way out when she caught her trampling and tearing flowers in the garden. Fortunately for everyone she was unable to cast any magic and when no one let her near any weapon she was almost harmless.

However, like a coin, this girl, too, had two sides to her. Ingrid Chief, the daughter of the Viking chief and his wife from the Coleridge Shore had a secret. Every evening and when not a single ray of sun shine touched her skin she transformed into an ugly creature.

The chocolate shade of her eyes turned to a muddy brown, her skin was green and covered with warts. The luscious locks disappeared, leaving her head with a shapeless patch of oily black hair. This other form looked hideous but she hid a truly golden heart. So she spent her days as a ruthless bloodthirsty monster in a stunning woman's body while her nights were nights of a kind anthropomorphic being resembling something between a toad and a goblin.

Her best friend was Cecilia Origami. This petite dancer was pretty and good through and through. Nonetheless she had a quirk of her own. She was made of paper.

 _Brooke: "Oh my fairy Godmother, those are my schoolmates from the Freedom year. I could greet them through Maddie."_

 _Male Narrator and Female Narrator in unison: "Don't you dare!"_

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 _Brooke: "Why did the scene change? Aren't we supposed to tell the story of Ingrid?"_

 _Female Narrator: (sternly)"Brooke."_

 _Brooke: "What is it this time?"_

 _Male Narrator: "You are supposed to narrate not to question the flow of the story."_

 _Brooke: "Yes, but…"_

 _Female Narrator: "No buts about it."_

I could sense someone's presence even though I was alone in the room. Or was I? Maybe one of the Narrators was nearby. They are invisible and comment the characters' behavior and thoughts. Fortunately they can't enter my mind or the mind of any Quill for that matter.

I'm Zelda Tolkien, once a normal young adult who thought to be able to lucid dream now a supernatural being with the ability to cross over to the lands of fictional stories and a new appointment. My new task is to train to one day become a headmistress of a school for fairy tales. Crazy, huh? And that's not all.

As you have guessed, the fairy tales are **very much** real. The kissing happens but so does the cursing and child eating. Long story short: This world is flipping dangerous. The catch is the fairy tales have to repeat themselves or otherwise the human readers on the other side will forget about them and their kingdoms may vanish into thin air. Sounds great, doesn't it? Yeah, that's why there are folks who are fed up with this system and decided to go against it. They call themselves the Rebels and they are looking for a way to live their life according to their wishes not according to the earthian storybooks. Opposite of them are the Royals, who may or may not be from actual royal descend, but who like (or are relatively okay with) the roles of their ancestors and want to act them out themselves.

That having said, some destinies, roles or how-you-wanna-call-it are really hard and I'm really glad I'm not the one with such a prescribed fate. Though frankly, getting hit by some mess unaware that something was heading your way in the first place is also pretty scripty, you know.

Like the other day for example. The most epic of fails begin so innocently…

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Pricessology classroom. A break between two periods. The Freedom year students were gathering their books and quills while the Legacy year ones waited behind the door for their turn. Darling yawning, Ashlynn hexting with Hunter and Rosabella Beauty ranted about the closed windows and the blinds rolled down to not let a single sunshine sneak through.

"I still believe everyone should get the chance to openly express their inner self," she exclaimed loudly and glared at the darkened windows and their teacher Mrs. White Queen.

Apple let out a nervous but delicate laugh: "But, Rosabella dear, please don't forget about Ingrid's special condition." The Fairest One threw a pitiful glance at the cursed Chief's daughter but Ingrid pretended she hasn't seen it.

Ingrid heard every single word though. It wasn't the first time someone mentioned 'her condition' nor the first time Rosabella tried to persuade her to get in touch with her beastly side. As if she had one.

And there was Raven. Another well-known student, another person Ingrid felt awkward around. Not because of her mother and her story destiny but because she was the one who ignited the Rebel movement and she encouraged everyone to write their own story.

A part of her would very much like to follow her lead but it was the part of her that was, thank Grimm, hidden away currently. But it wasn't her real self, it was just a mistake the destiny will correct in time.

Ingrid was undoubtedly a strange Royal. In fact she was a royal Royal. Double 'R' because she was the daughter of a Viking chief, not a posh Charming princess, but still a royalty. But whereas all princesses looked incredibly stunning or at least lovely, Ingrid was plain ugly. She didn't like it, but she knew it and she got used to it. Of course, there was always the occasional moron who would mock her for her looks but she actually preferred to be ugly and good, instead of being good looking but rotten and evil on the inside. Which was her other side. Being a toadish creature at night, a beastly beauty at day.

Darkness was good, light was bad that was her case in a world where anyone believed otherwise. One day, however, all this will end because her story meant that her good looks and nice personality will unite and all the bad traits will disappear. OK, so some people didn't like their stories but why the hex don't the same people care about themselves and don't leave her and her story in peace?!

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Ingrid turned to her best friend forever after who had a quirk of her own. Cecilia Origami was made of paper. It brought some problems of its own because some people couldn't think of such folk as real humans. They weren't alive enough for them, some called them slurs like chunks of metal or things. The polite term was person of material, POM. There were always some persons of material at Ever After High because the human authors were fond of coming up with talking toys and trees and the like. So whenever the more meatier students and teachers got annoying she could talk with Cedar Wood, Nathan Nutcracker or with Brandon, her boyfriend.

In the first year the students get to choose what subjects they want to study. Cecilia chose to study princessology. For one, Ingrid was glad they had a lesson together and secondly even though Cecilia wasn't meant to be a princess, she was supposed to be a lovely, gorgeous and graceful dancer, some qualities that are shared by princesses. As a love-at-first-sight interest for the main character and hero of their tale she was pretty close to be considered one.

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 _a week later at the library_

Rosabella Beauty, the next Beauty for a Beast, she certainly had the beauty part down even though she declared that she doesn't care only for one single beast that actually turns into a hottie later. Rosabella was an all around nature lover a trait she shared with Ashlynn Ella. But where Ashlynn was timid and shy, Rosabella was outspoken and unafraid to oppose all injustice. Unfortunately for her, sometimes she was the only one to see the blatant injustice around her. At least that's what she believed in.

Right now she was studying the beast policy of Cair Paravel. Next to her tried her cousin to learn but her staring into her textbook ended as always with a Beauty nap. It was lunch time so many students were either in the Castleteria eating or in the schoolyard practicing sports. But the door still creaked to reveal the large face of Ingrid. The library was one of the darker places in school so it was safe for Ingrid to be here as she had no homicidal urges.

Rosabella leaned to Briar that has just opened one of her eyes drowsily. "I see the grey-brown of denial around her," she pretended to whisper but the words came out loud enough for Ingrid to hear them. Her green complexion darkened as her cheeks flushed with blood. "Oh no there she goes again," she muttered.

Rosabella stood up and adjusted her glasses: "There's nothing wrong with being a beast. If you, a princess, will accept it, others will see the errors of their ways and be kinder to beasts everywhere as well." Ingrid turned to the activist princess and shouted: "I'm not a beast, I'm a human being like you. I just look like a toad. But not for long," she whispered. This outburst of emotion has earned her a hiss from the wicked step sisters who now served as the librarians and a glare from Rosabella. The toad-like looking chief's daughter has tried to reciprocate the stare but she broke it too soon. She gathered up her bag and things and left without a word.

She couldn't stomach another embrace-your-inner-rebel or worse inner-beast speech. What's worse she was leaving one of her safe havens as there weren't many dark rooms in Ever After High and if now she has to avoid going to the library because of Rosabella the time spent at school will get even harder than before. However there was one thing that she could still look forward to. Everything will be alright as soon as she signs the Storybook of legends and graduates then she will leave all obnoxious self-righteous pretty princesses behind.

 _Brooke: "Oh, I've never realized that someone's good intentions could hurt someone so much."_

 _ᴥ_

 _Author's note:_ Do you know Anderson's tales? Like, really know them? The EAH fans usually talk about the Little Mermaid and how terrible her destiny is or are influenced by Disney's adaptation of the Snow Quen but Anderson has written many tales. One is sadder than the other. Do you remember Cecilia from Freedomers and new semester? She comes back. Her and Brandon's fate will really challenge the destiny system the fairy tale society is built upon. And there is Ingrid Chief, who lives with a curse and was adopted by a Viking couple while her real parents can only helplessly watch and wait when her tale ends and she will return to them. They can't tell her who she really is, because they are afraid of the old Marsh Queen, Gunk's mother who is an evil old hag and a witch.


	2. Act 1

**Author's note:** I know I haven't updated in a long time but I was writing. I haven't finished much EAH fanfic stuff though. I did however wrote another chapter for Ballad of Tin and Paper. The plot is beginning to take shape.

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Act 1

Dear doctor Foster went to Gloucester, the ants were marching away with sugar cubes from the school's kitchen and Georgie Porgie jr. was kissing girls on haystacks. Just a normal Ever After day. Or really?

Something bugged me that day and I couldn't say what it was exactly. Something about the school and students.

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 _Once upon a time in hell…_

In your typical folk tale hot, dry and underground hell. The only thing providing humidity here are the cauldrons cooking sinners. The temperature is high due to all the fires providing light in this otherwise dark place. Cries and whines echo through this place day and night. Furthermore, after coming here your nose is immediately filled with the stench of sulfur.

Most sinners and devils spend their time playing cards. There isn't much else to do. The imps, chorts, krampuses and demons can choose between either torturing the former villains, playing tricks on each other and on the angels or making sinner stew.

 _Male Narrator: "Once upon a time in hell…_

 _Brooke: "They were all pretty damn bored. No wonder. There's nothing to do, the air is bad for the hair and you can't leave this place whenever you like. Not to mention the terrible smell. This is…This is really hell._

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The fairy tale students are like any other students in more things than one. For example they tend to form cliques, bands and clubs. Sorcerers, fairies, cooks, animal lovers etc. There were a lot of different groups and one person could be easily a part of more than one group. Like Miss Swan. She was a princess, a damsel that awaited future distress. The girl in question saw herself mostly as a dancer.

Duchess wasn't the only dance themed Character in the world. There were others like Justine Dancer or Cecilia Origami. The latter was regarded as a good friend, less of a nuisance than say, some princesses from miss Swan's grade. She was timid but she endured the hard ships of a ballet dancer with a stoic dignity. Something the swan princess and the paper ballerina had in common, there wasn't much else though.

Miss Origami was a commoner but she was still a main character of a well-known story so she ranked high in the storycracy that set the basics of the society structure. Both of her parents were alive and well if not meaty humans.

However she was still one of the few people who succeeded in earning Duchess's grudging approval. It didn't hurt that Cecilia was naturally prone to show respect to those who were better at the skills she possessed or were good in areas she had no talent in. Being a year older, thus polishing her ballet skills longer, Duchess firmly belonged in the first category.

Maybe it also had a lot to do with the fact that the paper ballerina's traditional ending isn't a happy one in a sense of a long life spent in the embrace of her true love. There was no wedding, no kingdom to rule. She, however, gets the guy. The swan princess was aware of this and was able to relate to someone else with a sad ending. Although she couldn't help and feel a tiny bit jealous of the fact that Cecilia has a promised true love. A short one, sure, but it's granted she will have it.

When practicing group performances or simply trading tips and tricks the two girl set aside their differences and negative emotions. Those were burdens and ballerinas have to be light on their feet. In those moments Duchess stopped thinking about the blatant injustice of the destiny and let her mentorly side out. She was a perfectionist and dancing was her passion. Her life. Cecilia was eager to learn and those lessons were never a waste of time for any of them.

Sometimes Duchess would engross herself so much in the dancing that she danced over to the pond and finished her solo there. Then the rustling clapping of two little papery arms would wake her up and bring her back to the earth.

"I'm always amazed when you dance on the water surface. I wish I could do this, too, but I would only soak up and dissolve in the water," sighed the younger dancer. It wasn't only about Duchess' lake dance, Cecilia had the same feelings about her fellow Andersonian fairytaler the mermaid Meeshell whenever she saw her swimming in the school pool. She would wonder how does water feel like since she had to beware of this substance. She had to be careful for even a rich rain or long frolicking in snow could cause damage to her sensitive skin.

Duchess bow and then said: "Enough blabbing, it's time you get some practice, too. You still have to work on those ballottés of yours. They must be done with grace and precision and You limp like a peg-legged penguin."

Cecilia smiled softly and started dancing. She may not know how it is to move in water but she knows how to move on land en pointe.

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On the edge of the Dark Forest an evil witch held a yard sale. Among useless garbage, like old shoes that she tried to sell as seven league boots, lay artifacts with real magical power.

An anthropomorphic fox has come to her hut to see if he could steal something valuable or something that would make stealing from others easier. Instead he found himself eye to eye with the landlady herself. She grinned wide and dangerously.

"Oh you poor lost soul, you look as if you need some luck in your life." The fox didn't like the attention of the sorceress but nodded with a forced smile. He planned on staying a fox. Being hungry fox is still a lot better than being turned into a frog. "Well, then I have something just for you," cooed the witch almost motherly. The fox gulped but still held his ground.

Maybe he would take up an offer of being a magical elixir tester if he got a hold of a proper meat amidst all the spell nonsense. The witch had an offer, all right, but of a different kind. She took out a wooden desk with letters and numbers on it and put a wooden heart shaped thingy with a tiny hole in the middle on it.

"This board summons spirits from seven realms. You ask a question and the spirit has to answer you. It's infinite knowledge right at your reach." The fox indeed reached out his paw to have it slapped by the woman. The hag's glare hardened. The fox began to shake a bit, he hid his hands in his pockets. The witch continued as if nothing has interrupted her: "They don't make them so sturdy and infallible anymore. It's very cheap, too. Only 30 everafterthalers."

It was the fox's turn to say or do something. He waited trying to make his brain work right again. Even the gingerbread police interrogation wasn't so nerve wrecking as the gaze of the sorceress. It took tremendous will to break the stare and find the right amount of money. He swiftly put the coins in the witch's hand and ran for it, though not so terrified as to leave his new treasure behind.

The witch cackled as she watched him flee, the desk under his arm. She scored an evil point and her yard sale promised profit. It was a good day for her.


End file.
